Interview with artist M. Aamir Naseer Special

Born and raised in the United Kingdom, M. Aamir Naseer holds a BSc in biomedical science from Staffordshire University. He is also a digital painter and aspiring author with a knack for not letting challenges, especially dyslexia, get in the way.

Cendrine Marrouat: Hello Aamir, thank you for answering my questions. Is there a particular event that triggered your desire to become a digital painter?

I had been researching about how I could teach myself to paint. I was quite anxious because I felt I had not completely understood how to paint, until I came across an extremely talented artist. I don't know her full name but her blog is called, Val's Art Diary. I was very inspired by her paintings, especially the one of 86-year-old gymnast Johanna Quaas.

She had an eccentric way to paint, and I mean that as a compliment. What I learnt from her was that there's really no rule to paint.

CM: Did you receive any formal training or are you a self-taught artist?

MAN: Not completely, I knew from an earlier age that I could sketch. But I never really considered a career role as an artist.

When I was in high school, I did receive some form of training in the form of 60-minute sessions on Wednesdays. But soon after I stopped painting.

For the last two years, I have taught myself to paint on my iPad. I've had time to experiment and learn.

CM: Would you define the concept of digital painting for us?

MAN: Unlike traditional painting that requires physical tools, digital art allows you to paint on a computer, tablet or using a stylus. By doing so, you can easily share your painting to social networking sites. Basically share it with the world.

CM: There is something intriguing about your creations. They are bare, and yet full of life. How do you achieve that result?

MAN: I really wouldn't know how to answer that... I use an emotional state of mind when I want to express a sense of feeling. I think it's inspiration from anything that allows me to achieve that kind of result. A strong sense of idea really. I create something from an inspiration that I then improve with digital tools.

"Crazy Art. Original Ver." by M. Aamir Naseer

M. Aamir Naseer

CM: When you work on a piece, what is the deciding factor? Do you go with the flow or do you need a specific idea or setting?

MAN: I really need a specific idea. It's very rare that I go with the flow.

CM: What is your daily routine?

MAN: It's quite random. I don't read that much because I work on my projects. At the moment, I have a lot of free time to generate ideas. I could be playing on my PS3, watching a horror film or a TV show.

CM: You are also an aspiring writer. Tell us a little more about that.

MAN: Yes! Writing was something I'd always wanted to do at a younger age. But because I've always struggled with my basic English in literacy, I didn't see myself becoming a writer. I did have many ideas in the past from which I wanted to tell a story. Just felt I needed some guidance.

I think it was in late October 2012 that I met with an author by the name of Dionne Lister on Twitter -- about something I wrote. After I had visited her blog and read a small piece of writing, "Undertow," I was suddenly inspired to write. It was because of that short story that I was able to write my own, titled "Pod."

Dionne has become both a mentor and a dear friend. She is very down-to-earth. I'm always grateful to her for my writing.

CM: Are you working on a specific project these days?

MAN: Currently I'm working on a sequel to a short story series that I wrote for my blog. It's called "The Solar-powered Entity" (TSpE for short) and should be released in 2014.

In the future, I hope to work on a project called "Bulb." I would like to publish it as a novella series.

Recently I wrote three pieces of micro-fictions, also known as shorter short stories.

CM: Anything else you would like to say?

MAN: I want to add that there's a new generation of aspiring writers who really need a sense of knowledge and guidance. A direction. For them, I think Twitter is that platform to reach out to established authors, and learn more about writing.